


The Beginning of a Long Story

by Kiraly



Category: Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Genre: Belonging, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 22:46:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Ember settles into the court and finds that he and Moon are different in a lot of ways. But it's what they have in common that matters most.





	The Beginning of a Long Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nonesane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonesane/gifts).



> Hello Nonesane! I hope you like this little fic. It was a fun challenge to look at things from Ember's perspective, though of course I couldn't resist sneaking a little Moon in as well.
> 
> I was mostly inspired by the way Ember and Moon interact at the end of _The Siren Depths_ , as well as the role Ember plays in _The Dark Earth Below_ and the patreon story about Emerald Twilight's impending visit that the author recently had available for the public.

"It's a long story." The way Moon said it, he clearly assumed Ember wouldn't want to listen. But on the day they'd met, he would have given anything to hear Moon’s story. To hear  _ anything  _ from another consort, really. At Emerald Twilight, he’d had no particular importance, other than the distinction of being the only consort of Fade’s bloodline. He’d been surrounded by other consorts. Here, there was only Moon, the line grandfather, and a pair of fledglings. When Tempest and her warriors took Moon away to meet his birth court, leaving Ember in his place, the loneliness had settled over him like a cloud.

The arbora had been kind to him, of course. They’d offered food and tea and stories, just bits of things that came up throughout the day. They fell silent whenever someone mentioned the missing members of the court, though, and cast guilty looks at Ember. Moon’s absence, and later Jade’s and the warriors who flew with her, hung heavy over the colony tree. It had felt like the court was holding its breath, waiting for their safe return. Ember found himself caught up in it, too. Every time he entered the consorts’ hall, he was surprised to find it empty.

Even now, with the lost Raksura come home to roost, Ember didn’t feel quite settled. The warriors were warming up, gradually, though a few of them still gave him dirty looks whenever they saw him with Pearl. And Pearl herself made him feel much safer and calmer when she was around. But the fact was, Indigo Cloud hadn’t felt like a proper court without consorts. Moon’s return was a relief, and not just for Ember. The whole court seemed happier; he’d heard a pair of arbora discussing the possibility of new babies just that afternoon. Things were going back to normal.

So it was time to take his own place in the court, and that meant getting to know the first consort. Moon seemed to want to talk, so Ember let him—and the story left him-wide eyed. Some of it—okay,  _ most  _ of it—was completely beyond anything Ember had ever experienced. Living with groundlings? Hiding his true nature, fighting for his life against creatures that made Ember dizzy just hearing about them? When Moon got to the part where he'd first encountered the Fell, Ember thought he might be sick. He couldn't imagine what he would have done in Moon's place. He doubted he’d have had the courage to kill the Fell ruler like Moon had.

As much as Ember wanted the story to go on forever, eventually Moon's throat got dry. "Sorry," he said, "I'm not used to talking so much. I'll have to tell you some other time, if you still want to hear it."

"Of course!" Ember didn't have to pretend at eagerness. Moon’s life was like something out of one of the stories the arbora read in the evenings. And if he was going to settle into his own role, he should know all of it. "I want to hear more."

Moon nodded. "All right, then. I'll tell you."   


* * *

 

So that was how Ember got to know Moon—one story at a time, each adventure more heart-stopping than the last. By comparison, his own sheltered existence at Emerald Twilight seemed almost dull. There was something different, too, about the  _ way  _ Moon told stories. Ember couldn’t put his finger on it, until one day Moon actually brought it up.

“How did you know that?”

Ember blinked and broke off his story. “Well...I was there?” He’d been telling Moon about the conversation he’d had with Tempest earlier that day. Emerald Twilight’s visit meant lots of audiences and special meals, and by the third day Moon had looked ready to tear someone’s head off. So Ember had suggested they fly a few laps around the colony tree, and they’d settled on one of the higher branches to talk privately. It was a relief after the tense atmosphere inside. “You were there too, Moon. I think you were talking to Jade though, so maybe you didn’t notice.”

Moon favored him with a “don’t be stupid” look worthy of Stone. “Yes, I  _ was  _ there, but I’m certain Tempest didn’t go into detail about how she wants to use you to win favor with Pearl. No one actually  _ says  _ that. And I didn’t hear anyone even mention Opal Night.”

Ember struggled to put words to it. “It’s...just kind of obvious? Tempest lost a lot of face when Opal Night sent her packing. And it’s no secret that Indigo Cloud is a new favorite of Opal Night, since they let Jade keep you.” Moon growled a little at that reminder, but he didn’t tell Ember to stop talking. “That’s the whole reason for the visit, right? Emerald Twilight wants to get back on Indigo Cloud’s good side. Tempest knows I’m their best chance.”

Moon stared at him for so long that Ember was afraid he’d said something wrong. Eventually, Moon shook his head and said, “Oh. I thought they just came to see if we’d corrupted you.”

He hadn’t missed the way they’d carefully inquired about how Ember was settling in, then. Or maybe he  _ had  _ missed it, but assumed that was what Emerald Twilight wanted because he didn’t trust them. And that was how it was with Moon, he realized. His stories were full of action, focused on what people did and said. When he talked about the groundlings he’d met, that made sense; their customs were different, and didn’t always match what a Raksura would have done. But Moon spoke that way about his own people, too. Like he didn’t really understand them. No wonder he sometimes looked at Ember like he had three heads.

But Moon was part of Indigo Cloud now. He must know that, after everything they’d gone through to get him back from his birth court. And in spite of his shaky beginning, Ember belonged here too. He wondered if Moon realized that.

* * *

 

“It’s good to see you settling in so well,” Tempest said, rearranging her claws around the teacup. She’d done more of that than actual drinking of tea, but it was all part of the delicate dance between courts. Ember turned his own cup a fraction to the right. “I trust you’re feeling more comfortable in your role now, Ember?” 

It was the only reference she’d make to his meltdown before leaving Emerald Twilight; he’d begged her to send someone else and let him stay at home. It had almost worked, too, because he’d probably looked like an overgrown fledgling throwing a tantrum. But they’d brought him anyway, and Tempest had been right. He’d found better opportunities here than he would have at Emerald Twilight.

He was searching for a way to say so without appearing to agree outright when Gust, one of the Emerald Twilight warriors, spoke up. “It’s better here than we thought. I heard a predator actually got into the colony, and—oof!” Beacon, one of the older female warriors, smacked him in the back of the head and hissed. Tempest glared at him, but it was too late to take back the words. Ember sighed.

“It wasn’t a predator,” he said. He was aware of conversations around them growing quiet as members of Indigo Cloud turned their ears to listen. Moon had stiffened in the way that meant he wanted to shift, but knew he shouldn’t. Ember kept going. “There was a crazy groundling hunting another groundling. It sent predators to attack outside the colony tree, but none of them got in.”

“Ah. The queens and warriors drove them back?” Tempest asked. It was pointless to pretend they weren’t having this conversation now, and she was probably as interested as Gust was.

“Yes. Well, Pearl did. Jade was about to clutch.” Ember had been set to watch her—not that he could have done much of anything if an enemy got in, but it had been nice to have an important job to do. “And the line grandfather, of course.” And then, for the sake of honesty, “And Moon.”

Tempest didn’t react—after traveling with Moon, she probably knew what he was like—but Gust piped up again. “Their  _ consort  _ fought the predators?”

Not long ago, Ember would have been just as shocked. But he’d heard Moon’s stories, and the stories of the other Raksura who had traveled with him. He wouldn’t want to do what Moon did—and the colony didn’t need him to be that kind of consort, anyway. But he was a consort all the same, with his own role that was just as important. And part of that was handling this situation. “Yes, he did,” Ember said. “Let me tell you the story.” 

 


End file.
